Games fans started queuing for the new PlayStation 3 consoles yesterday, up to 36 hours before they go on sale.

Buy a PlayStation 3 in Wales in four not-so-easy steps

Step 1 Pray that you've placed a pre-order for one of the #425 consoles. This has long since become the only way that gamers can guarantee they get the latest technology on its launch day.

Step 2 If you have an order, check with the branch where you ordered it about what time it will be opening. Some bigger games stores are opening at midnight, others at around 7am.

Step 3 Once you've found the opening time, get there early. Sooner you arrive, the more chance of beating huge queues.

Step 4 If you haven't pre-ordered one, all hope is not lost. HMV's store in Cardiff will have some available to buy off the shelf when it opens at midnight.

A series of games outlets in Wales will open their doors at midnight tonight to serve the queues of people waiting to pick up pre-ordered editions of the #425 console.

Sony and Virgin Megastores have both pledged to get customers get home safely after tonight's official midnight launch of the PS3.

It follows police concerns about the safety of customers who buy the consoles in central London late at night.

Priced at #425, the PS3 has been eagerly awaited by games fans after Sony pushed back its UK debut by around four months due to manufacturing problems.

Game, the UK's largest video games retailer, ruled out a midnight launch in central London after discussions with the police.

Its flagship Oxford Street store will instead open at 7am on Friday, although some 220 regional Game stores it will open at midnight tonight, including Welsh branches in Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil and Cwmbran.

The chain's marketing director Anna Macario said, 'The launch of the PS3 is a big deal to our customers. We are managing the launch so it is safe for them, and the only thing they have to concentrate on is securing their new console.'

HMV will open 50 UK outlets at midnight but its flagship Oxford Street store in London will not open until early on Friday morning.

The PS3 has a built-in player for Blu-ray discs - Sony's next generation DVDs.

But it is expected to have a tougher battle with rival consoles than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, which swept all before it after its release in November 2000, selling 50 million worldwide, including more than 16 million in Europe, after expected competition from new consoles by Sega and Nintendo didn't materialise when the Dreamcast and Game Cube both flopped.

This time it is likely to face sterner competition from the family-oriented Nintendo Wii, significantly cheaper at #180, and the XBox 360, which cost around #300. Both have already been on the market for several months and have been selling well, with the Wii, in particular, proving popular thanks to its unique infrared controller.

But despite the crowded marketplace, Sony's Welsh-born chief executive Sir Howard Stringer will be hoping the console does well enough to boost the profits of the Japanese electronics giant.

The company has seen its profits threatened by increased global competition, which has forced it into a major overhaul.

The PS3 is marketed as offering a more complete entertainment package than its competitors.

Aside from the Blu-ray DVD player, it boasts a 60GB hard drive - significantly bigger than any of its rivals - as well as a wireless remote and bluetooth capability.